Clinker disposal means



1944- E. J. ANDERSON CLINKER DISPOSAL MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec.15, 1941 UEIEIUI] 75 7 1NVEN TOR. Edward J. Anderson W fmi 1944- E. J.ANDERSON CLINKER DISPOSAL MEANS Filed Dec. 15, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m 06. WM w OJ I IAXTA F J Fig.9

Patented Oct. 3, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,359,272 CLINKER.DISPOSAL MEANS Edward J. Anderson, Lincoln, Nebr.

Application December 15,1941, Serial No. 423,082

Claims.

The present invention clinker disposal means and more particularly witha device adapted to be associated with a furnace to facilitate theremoval of clinkers and ashes therefrom.

In recent years, great strides have been made in eliminating the dustand dirt previously associated with coal burning furnaces. A widespreadadoption of stokers has been primarily responsible forthis. With theinstallation of stokers, the average householder usually becomesextremely interested in eliminating as far as possibleany dust and fumessuch as are ordinarily associated with a hand fired, coal burningfurnace. While a stoker eliminates. the creation of dust and fumesincidental to firing, it does not take care of the problem of disposingof ashes and clinkers, particularly the latter. In removing these in theconventional manner, it is almost impossible for the householder toavoid spilling a certain amount of ashes on the door and permittingfumes from the furnace to pass out into the basement.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved means forfacilitating the removal of clinkers. In general, I propose to providemeans whereby the clinkers may be removed from the furnace and conductedthrough a chute into a receptacle disposed closely adjacent the furnace.

While arrangements have been previously proposed for accomplishing thegeneral object outlined above, these devices usually either formed partof the furnace proper or were so positioned as to interfere with aninspection of the furnace and in the case of a hand fired furnace, tointerfere with the firing thereof.

Thus, a more specific object of the present invention is to provide anarrangement having a portion normally in an inoperative position so asnot tointerfere in any way with the access to the firing opening of thefurnace and which can be moved to an operative position-in which theremoval of clinkers from the furnace to a suitable receptacle isfacilitated.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an arrangementsuch as set forth in the last object in which the interior of thefurnace is clearly visible when the clinker disposing arrangement is inits operative position.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide such anarrangement wherein there is a chute directly connected with the clinkerreceptacle by a connection which may be adjusted to permit removal ofthe receptacle.

is concerned with A still further object of the invention is to providesuch an arrangement in which provision is made for the apparatus closelyengaging the furnace when in operative position.

A further object of the invention is to provide such an arrangement inwhich provision is made for carrying off the fumes from the clinkersinto the furnace after the clinkers have been removed.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an arrangementof the type discussed which may be employed in connection with a stokerfired furnace in which the stoker enters th furnace in the front there.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from a consideration ofthe accompanying specification, claims, and drawings; of which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved clinker disposal meansassociated with a'stoker fired furnace;

Figure 2 is a'view similar to Figure 1 but showin the clinker disposalmeans in operative position;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the lid as; sembly employed in theclinker disposal device;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the clinker disposal means;

Figure 5 is a front sectional view, the section being taken along theline 55 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of lid assemblyparticularly adapted for a hand fired furnace; 7

Figure 7 is a front elevational view of a modified form of the clinkerdisposal device;

Figure 8 is a front elevational view of the lid assembly for the clinkerdisposal means of Fig ure 7; Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view of afurther modification, the section being taken along the line 9-9 ofFigure 10 in the direction Of the arrows; and

Figure 10 is a transverse sectional view of the modification of Figure9, the sectionbeing taken along theline Ill-l0 of Figure 9 in thedirection of the arrows.

Referring specifically to the drawings, a furnace assembly is generallyindicated by the reference numeral ID. This furnace assembly is of aconventional type comprisng the furnace II and the furnace jacket l2.The furnace H is provided with the usual clean-out door I3 and thefiring door M. The firing door is hinged in the conventional manner tothe furnace as at l5.

Projecting into the furnace at the side thereof is a casing I6 enclosingthe coal and air tubes of a stoker II. It will be understood that thiscasing extends into the furnace proper through the jacket I2. Theoperation of this stoker in supplying coal and air to the furnace isentirely conventional and forms no part, in itself, of the presentinvention.

The reference numeral I9 is employed to designate a rectangular chuteformed of sheet metal or the like. This chute is supported on the floorof the furnace room and may be secured, if desired, to the furnace bysuitable fastening means such as brackets 20.

Slidably secured within the chute I9 is a lid assembly 2 I. This lidassembly comprises a cover member 22 having downwardly extending flanges21 to which are secured side wall members 24. These side wall membersmay constitute legs for the lid assembly where desired. Extendingbetween the two side members 24 is a deflector plate 25, the ends ofwhich are turned inwardly and secured to the side walls 24. As bestindicated in Figure 3, this deflector plate 25 is of limited width andis spaced from the lid 22 a sufficient distance to permit the insertionof a shovel, tongs, or any similar furnace tool. A glass pane 23 ispreferably secured in the lid assembly 22, particularly in cases wherethe fire bed is of such depth that it would be otherwise dinicult to seethe fire bed when the lid assembly is in the operative position. Thisglass pane may be of plate glass or wire reinforced glass to minimizethe danger of the glass being broken. A handle 26, secured to the cover22, is employed for raising or lowering the lid assembly 2|, as will beexplained later. A catch 28 is secured to the rear part of the cover 22and is adapted to be engaged over the curved portion 29 of th furnaceadjacent the fire door I4.

While the operation of the clinker disposing means will be referred toin greater detail later, it is to be noted at the present time that thelid assembly 2| is slidably secured within the chute I9 and is normallyin the position shown in Figure 1 in which it is out of the path of thefiring door I4 and interferes in no way with the inpection and thenormal operation of the furmace. When, however, it is desired to removeclinkers and ashes, the lid assembly 2| is moved to the position shownin Figure 2.

The chute I9 is adapted to communicate with a clinker receptacle 30disposed within a pit 3I. Pit 3I is normally covered by a lid 32provided with a handle 33. The lid 32 may, if desired, be hinged to thefiooras at 34.

It will be noted that the receptacle 30 is approximately the samecross-sectional configuration as the chute I9 and of the same size orslightly larger than the'chute. In order to insure that the receptacle30 will be properly positioned with respect to the chute I9 and todecrease to a minimum the chance of dust and ashes escaping into thefurnace room, a sleeve 42 is provided between the chute I9 and thereceptacle 30. This sleeve 42 is slidably secured within the chute I9and is actuated by mechanism best shown in Figures 4 and 5. It will benoted that a rod 43 extends transversely through the chute I9 adjacentthe front wall and is journalled in the side walls. The right hand endof the rod (as viewed in Figures 2 and has a handle 36 secured to it. Bymeans of this handle 36, the rod 43 can be readily rotated. Secured torod 43 are a plurality of lever arms 31. The outer ends of these leverarms 31 are connected by means of links 38 to a pair of slidable bars39. The bars 39, at their upper ends, slidably extend through guideblocks M and, at their lower ends, are secured to the sleeve 42. It willbe obvious from a consideration of Figures 4 and 5 that rotation of thehandle 36 in a counter-clockwise direction will raise the sleeve 42while rotation of the handle in a clockwise direction will lower thesleeve 42.

Where desired, a connection may be made between the interior of thechute I9 and the combustion chamber. Thus, referring to Figures 4 and 5,such an opening is indicated by the reference numeral 44. This openingpermits the gases escaping from the clinkers after the lid assembly 2|has been lowered into the position of Figure 1, to pass into thecombustion chamber and so out through the stack pipe.

Operation of species of Figures 1 to 5 As previously indicated, theparts are shown in their normal positions in Figure 1.- When it isdesired to remove clinkers, the firing door I4 is first opened. Thehandle 26 is then grasped and the lid assembly 2I is moved upwardly.Because of a slight looseness of fit, it is possible when the lidassembly is raised to move it forwardly to engage the catch 28 over thecurved portion 20 or any similar projecting portion of the furnace so asto retain the lid assembly in the position shown in Figures 2, 4 and 5.It will be seen that when the parts are in this position, there is anopening bounded by the sides 24, the deflector 25, and the lid 22 whichis of substantially the same size as the firing opening normally closedby the door I4. In spite of the fact that the depth of the firingopening has, in effect, been increased, it'is still possible by reasonof the glass pane 23 to view the interior of the combustion chamber soas to facilitate the removal of clinkers. The operator now inserts tongsor a similar clinker removing device and extricates the clinkers,drawing them out through the firing door opening and dropping them intothe chute I9. The clinkers pass, downwardly through chute I9 and sleeve42 into receptacle 39. Due to the draft within the furnace, any gaseswhich pass upwardly from receptacle 39 enter the combustion chamber andare drawn up the flue. As soon as the clinkers have been removed, theoperator lowers the lid assembly 2I, effectively closing oif the outletof chute I9 and preventing any further escape of gases. Any gases whichare admitted will be retained within the chuteassembly I9 and thereceptacle 30, or where the opening 44 is provided, will pass into thefurnace proper.

It will be seen that the operation of removing the clinkers has beenaccomplished without any danger of spilling the clinkers or ashes on thefloor of the basement.

7 Furthermore, the arrangement does not in any way impede normal accessto the furnace. In fact, the clinker disposal means may be entirelyseparated from the furnace, having no physical connection therewith.

When it is desired to remove the clinkers, the lever 36 is rotated in acounter-clockwise direction to move the sleeve 42 upwardly. This permitsthe receptacle 30 to be withdrawn from the position shown to a positionunderneath the lid 32. As soon as the sleeve 42 has been raised in thismanner, the lid 32 is raised and the receptacle 30 is withdrawn from thepit through the opening normally covered by lid 32.

Modification of Figur 6 In Figure 6, I have shown a slightly modifiedform of the lid assembly. In the first place, the cover I22corresponding to cover 22 is made of metal throughout and has no glasspane therein. A handle I26 is secured to the center of cover I22. Theside walls I24 are considerably longer than the side walls 24 of thepreviously described species so that the cover I22 is spaced a muchgreater distance from the deflector plate I25 than is cover 22 from thedeflector 25. Secured to the inside of side walls I24 at the sameposition with respect to baffle I25 as cover I22 of the preferredspecies, are slotted retaining strips I33. Secured within theseretaining strips is a pane of plate glass I23. Because of the positionof retaining strips I30, the glass pane I23 occupies the same positionwith respect to the deflector I25 as does the lid I22 with respect tobafile 25. Thus, when the lid assembly of Figure 6 is raised upwardly,it is raised to a position wherein the glass pane- I23 comes above thefire door opening. The arrangement of Figure 6 can be used with a handfired furnace where there might be danger of the glass pane becomingbroken during firing operations by reason of lumps of coal dropping onit. In the arrangement of Figure 6, the glass pane I23 is protected bythe overlying metal cover member I22.

The lid assembly of Figure 6 is provided with a further feature whichmay, if desired, be employed with a lid assembly such as that of Figure3. It will be noted that secured within the sid walls I24, there is aninverted U-shaped sleeve I28. Secured to this sleeve I28 are a pair ofbars I29 which are slidably secured in guides I32. The U-shaped sleeveI28 is employed wher a lid assembly, upon being moved upwardly, cannotbe made to firmly engage the edges of the firing opening. It oftenhappens that the front of the furnace is so shaped that when the lidassembly is positioned so that it can be drawn vertically upwardly, itwill be spaced slightly from the walls of the firing opening when it ismoved to an operative position. When the sleeve member I28 is employed,it is possible to push inwardly on the bars I29, moving the sleeve I28into engagement with the walls of the firing opening. In many cases,however, it is unnecessary to employ this sleeve due to the draft of thefurnace being sufficient to prevent the escape of any gases through thenarrow opening between the walls of the lid assembly and the walls ofthe firing opening.

Species of Figure 7 In Figure '1 I have shown a further modificationparticularly designed for the case in which the stoker enters thefurnace from the front. While in the better stoker installations, thereis a tendency to introduce the stoker from the side so as to facilitatenormal access to the interior of the furnace, stokrs are occasionallyintroduced from the front either for purposes of economy or because oflack of space at any other point. In such cases, it is obvious that thechute I9 cannot extend vertically upwardly as in the species of Figures1 to 5. In this case, it is desirable to employ the arrangement ofFigure '1 in which the upper portion of the chute 2I9 is inclined. Inthe arrangement of Figure 7, the lid assembly is slightly modifiedbecause of the inclination of chute 2I9. As shown in Figures 7 and 8,the cover 222 has one side wall 232 rigidly secured to it at rightangles thereto. is hinged as at 234 so as to be adapted to fold inwardlyto assume the position shown in Figure '1.

The other leg 233 I Preferably, as shown in Figure 8, a spring 235 issecured to the cover 222 and biases the side wall 233 outwardly into aposition in which it is at right angles to the plane of cover 222. Inuse, the side wall 233 is folded as shown in its lower position inFigure 7. Upon the lid assembly being drawn upwardly, the leg 233 ispushed outwardly by spring 235 until it assumes the position shown inthe uppermost portion of Figure 1 in dotted lines and in Figure 8 infull lines. When the lid assembly is so moved upwardly, it is obviousthat it can be used in the same way as the species of Figures 1 to 5.

Species of Figures 9 and 10 Occasionally, it may be undesirable toprovide a pit within the basement. In such a case, the function of thechute I9 and receptacle 36 are both performed by a single member. Suchan arrangement is shown in Figures 9 and 10. The lid assembly isdesignated by the reference numeral 32I and is identical to the lid 2Iof the preferred species. In other words, this comprises a cover member322 to which is secured side wall mem-. bers 324. Extending between thetwo side wall members 324 is a deflector plate 325, the ends of whichare secured to the side walls. preferred species, a glass pane issecured in the lid assembly. A handle 326 is secured to the cover 322.

Instead, however, of a separate chute I9 and a receptacle 30, these twomembers are combined in one unit 340. This unit consists of a receptacleof a rectangular cross section substantially the same in configurationas the cover member 322. The receptacle comprises sidewalls 34l and 342,a front wall 344, and a rear wall 345. Secured within the receptacle 340is an inner wall assembly 355 having a front inner wall 356 and sideinner walls 351 and 358. As best indicated in Figure'9, thesewallsextend only a slight distance below the bottom of the side wall members324 when the lid assembly is in its lowermost position. The inner wallassembly is retained in place by having the walls 351 and 358 secured tothe rear wall 345 of receptacle 340 by brackets 359 or other suitablefastening means.

It will be noted that the inner walls 356, 351, and 358, in cooperationwith the outer walls 342, 344, and MI forma plurality of channelsthrough which the side wall members 324 and the deflector plate 325slide. The inner walls 356, 351, and 358 insure that any clinkersentering the receptacle will not assume a position in the path ofmovement of the side walls 324 or the deflector plate 325. In otherwords, the inner and outer walls in cooperation serve to providechannels for the side walls 324 and deflector plate 325 which are alwaysclear of clinkers.

In use, the lid assembly 32I is withdrawn from the receptacle 340sufficiently to permit the cover 322 to be secured tolthe top of thefire door opening as with the species of Figures 1 to 5. In order tosimplify the illustration, the means for securing the cover 322 to thetop of the firedoor opening is not shown. It is to be understood,however, that a means similar to catch 28 is provided for this purpose.The operator may View the fire through the glass pane of the lidassembly as he withdraws the clinkers. As with the species of Figures 1to 5, the clinkers are dropped downwardly without being brought into thefurnace room. In the present case, they pass downwardly within the Walls356, 351, 345, and 358, remaining at all times out of the path of As inthe movement of the lid assembly. As soon as all of the clinkers havebeen removed, the lid assembly is dropped down to the position shown inFigure 9 in which all escape of fumes from the receptacle is prevented.

While the arrangement of Figures 9 and 10 is more limited as to thecapacity of the receptacle and has certain other minor disadvantages, itoffers the advantage of greater economy. Furthermore, it retains certainof the basicfeatures of the previously described species in that it isnormally out of the path of the firing door and provides means which,when this lid assembly is raised, constitutes an enclosure for removingthe clinkers without any possibility of fumes or ashes escaping into thefurnace room.

Conclusion In general, while I have shown certain specific embodimentsof my invention, it is to be understood that this is for purposes ofillustration only and that my invention is to be limited only by thescope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a furnace having a firing opening normallycovered by a firing door, a chamber adapted to receive clinkers andashes, and a clinker receivin and guiding member supported for slidingmovement in a substantially vertical direction and adapted to beslidably raised and lowered with respect to said chamber between anuppermost position in which it surrounds said firing opening and alowermost position in which it is out of the path of said firing doorwhile remaining slidably associated with said chamber.

2. In combination with a furnace having-a firing opening normallycovered by a firing door, a chamber adapted to receive clinkers andashes, and a clinker receiving and guiding member supported for slidingmovement in a substantially vertical direction and adapted to be raisedand lowered with respect to said chamber between an uppermost positionin which it surrounds said firing opening and a lowermost position inwhich it is out of the path of said firing door andcloses the upper endof saidchamber.

3. In a furnace attachment designed to be positioned adjacent a furnaceto facilitate the removal of clinkers therefrom, a receptacle, a chutecommunicating with said receptacle, and a lid assembly comprising acoverof an area to cover the upper end of said chute and a pair of side wallsextending downwardly and telescoping with said chute, said side wallsbeing of a. length su-fficient to support said lid assembly with respectto said chute after the cover member has been raised above the top ofthe firing opening of the furnace.

4. In a furnace attachment designed to be positioned adjacent a furnaceto facilitate the removal of clinkers therefrom; a receptacle; a chutecommunicating with said receptacle; and a lid assembly comprising a lidof an area to cover the upper end of said chute, a pair of side wallsextending downwardly and telescoping with said chute, and an invertedU-shaped sleeve slidably secured to said side walls, said side wallsbeing of a length sufficient to support said lid assembly with respectto said chute after the cover member has been raised above the top ofthe firing opening of the furnace, and said sleeve being effective whenmoved to the rear to close any gap between said lid assembly and saidfurnace.

5. In a furnace attachment designed to be positioned adjacent a furnaceto facilitate theremoval of clinkers therefrom; a receptacle; a chutehaving its open lower end directed toward said receptacle; a sleeveslidably secured within said chute and adapted in its lowermost positionto connect said chute to said receptacle; and a lid assembly comprisinga lid of an area to cover the upper end of said chute and a pair of sidewalls extending downwardly and telescoping with said chute,'said sidewalls being of a length sufficient to support said lid assembly withrespect to said chute after the cover member has been raised above thetop of the firing opening of the furnace.

6. In a furnace attachment designed to be positioned adjacent a furnaceto facilitate the removal of clinkers therefrom; a receptacle; a chuteadapted to be supported on the floor of the furnace room; means fordetachably connecting said chute to said receptacle; and a lid assemblyconnected to said chute in a telescoping manner; said lid assemblycomprising a cover adapted to fit over and cover the upper end of saidchute when said cover is in its lowermost position, a pair of side wallshaving a telescoping fit with said chute, and a deflector plateextendingbetween said side walls in the front of said lid assembly andspaced from said cover sufficiently to permit the insertion of clinkerremoving tools therebetween.

7. In a furnace attachment designed to be sitioned adjacent a furnace tofacilitate the removal of clinkers therefrom; a receptacle; a chuteadapted to be supported on the floor of the furnace room; means fordetachably connecting said chute to said receptacle; and a lid assemblyconnected to said chute in a telescoping manner; said lid assemblycomprising a cover adapted to fit over and cover the upper end of saidchute, when said cover is in its lowermost position, a pair of sidewalls having a telescoping fit with said chute, a pane of transparentmaterial extending between said side walls a substantial distance belowsaid cover member, and a deflector plate extending between said sidewalls in the front of said lid assembly and spaced from said pane oftransparent material sufliciently to permit the insertion of clinkerremoving tools therebetween.

8. In combination with a furnace having a firing opening normallycovered by a firing door, a receptacle adapted to receive clinkers andashes and having double side walls, and a clinker receiving and guidingmember comprising a cover member and side walls disposed'in atelescoping manner within said side walls, said guiding memher beingadapted to be raised and lowered with respect to said chamber between anuppermost position in' which it surrounds said firing opening and alowermost position in which it is out of the path of said firing door.

9. In combination with a furnace having a firing opening normallycovered by a firin door, a receptacle adapted to receive clinkers andashes and having double side walls and a double front wall, and aclinker receiving and guiding member comprising a cover member, sidewalls, and a deflector plate extending between said side walls in frontof said member, said side walls and deflector plate being disposed in atelescoping man'- ner in said double side walls and double front wall,said guiding member being adapted to be raised and lowered with respectto said chamber between an uppermost position in which it surrounds saidfiring opening and a lowermost position in which it is out of the pathof said firing door.

10. In combination with a furnace having a firing opening normallycovered by a firing door, a chamber adapted to receive clinkers andashes, and a clinker receiving and guiding member of substantially thesame horizontal depth as said chamber and supported "for slidingmovement be tween an uppermost position in which it surrounds saidfiring opening and a lowermost position in which it is out of the pathof said firing door and forms an ash-tight closure for said chamber.

EDWARD J. ANDERSON.

